Department of Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics

Assistant Professor, International Development

Degree:

Ph.D., Michigan State UniversityM.S., Michigan State UniversityM.A., University of York, United Kingdom B.Sc., University of Buea, Cameroon

Dr. Me-Nsope joined the AFRE faculty at Michigan State University in 2015 as a fixed-term assistant professor of International Development. She worked with the Food Security Research Group, and her most recent activities include: analyzing the nutritional impact of staple food substitution in West Africa using quantitative methods; conducting case studies to understand how smallholder rice and cassava farmers in Ghana link to profitable markets; and a qualitative assessment of the impacts of USAID/Yaajeende’s “Pass on the Gift” program, a Feed the Future project designed to reduce malnutrition in Senegal’s northeastern zones through the gifting of animals.

Prior to graduate studies at MSU, Dr. Me-Nsope studied gender and development in Cameroon and in the United Kingdom, and was later employed with the Gender and Development Unit of INSER and Gender Lenses (LLC) in Cameroon. Since 2013, she has been serving as the Gender Lead for the Global Center for Food Systems Innovation (GCFSI), a USAID Innovation Lab at MSU. Dr. Me-Nsope has been part of several efforts to improve gender integration in agricultural programs and policies targeting household food security, nutrition and poverty through agricultural value chain development in West, Central and Southern Africa. She is familiar with USAID guidelines for gender integration in agricultural programs, and has provided technical assistance to USAID agricultural programs. She recently conducted gender analysis of agricultural value chains (Malawi, Mali, Chad, and Ghana) to inform the design of value chain interventions that will improve food systems outcome, reduce gender inequalities and empower women.

Gender dimensions of food systems challenges and implications for innovations

Student Mentoring

Capacity building (for GCFSI research faculty and innovation grant recipients) to ensure gender integration into the Center’s programming efforts in order to improve on the applicability of innovative solutions to complex food system problems

Technical advice to the BHEARD program in implementing a gender sensitive approach in building scientific capacity (human and institutional) in agricultural research and development in the (Feed The Future) countries of Uganda, Ghana, Mozambique, Mali and Bangladesh.

Teaching Experience

Guest lecture in Animal Science 480 (Spring, 2015): Emerging Issues and Sustainability in International Agriculture. “Understanding the role of gender in international agriculture development”. 04/13/2015

Trainer/Facilitator with INSER-Development Consultancy Firm in Partnership with the Ministry of Youth Development. 2003. Duties included capacity building for unemployed graduates to help them identify and pursue suitable career objectives.